Women, know your limits!
February 12, 2008 | 11:15 pm | Video | Girly | 3
I was thinking today that regardless of one’s political leanings we should all feel an incredible sense of privilege and responsibility this election year in that we have a 50 percent chance of electing a barrier-breaking candidate. While I don’t necessarily agree with everything MaryT says here, I do have to give her credit for this bit:
I like Hillary. Peops call her the ice queen, but I don’t feel that way at all. She is not charismatic in the same way Obama or Clinton the first (ha!) were, but I believe she is warm and cares about this country and ALL its people very deeply. She has been dubbed the ice queen because it is a divisive term meaning she is a successful woman in a suit.
But let’s not talk politics. This relates to my personal life in that I am constantly being told by people (some of whom are very close to me and thus should know better) that I should simmer down, change, be less outgoing, less opinionated, quieter, more discrete. I’m still a bit shaken up by the events of this weekend and I feel guilty for feeling guilty about doing nothing whatsoever wrong.
Times like these sometimes make me question deep down just how happy I am with myself and if I should try harder to please other people instead, or at least to fit into the cupcake mold they have set aside for me. Then I tend to snap out of it pretty quickly and remember the wise words I recently read on the back of a 50-year-old woman’s Vespa: Well-behaved women rarely make history.
Yes, it’s a cliche, but the truth is that the doubting of myself hurts me much worse than criticism from others. What helps most is knowing C and the rest of you out there who know and love me know and love me because of these traits, not in spite of them.
And now, a video:
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I’m not a Hillary fan, myself, but I am pretty pissed off about the inequality in coverage of the Democratic candidates.
People laugh when a guy in a crowd at a Hillary event yells, “Iron my shirt!” or “Clean my house!” or some other sexist bullshit. But wouldn’t it be the same, or at least similar, if people were yelling for Obama to “Pick my cotton!” or even calling him “boy”? Nobody would stand for that shit.
Meanwhile, the GOP is fielding all old white dudes. Maybe I should go to a John McCain event and yell out what I’m thinking. Sadly, “Read me a story, Grandpa!” and “Own a diversified stock portfolio!” don’t have the same sting.
I totally agree. There’s been all this talk about whether or not women should feel obligated to vote for Hillary simply because she’s also a woman, but no one has asked whether blacks should feel obligated to vote for Barack. What’s great is that we have a chance to make history with either one.
Anyway, your scathing insults for McCain remind me of the website White Whine.
It sounds like we had the same weekend. I guess you just have to remind yourself that not everybody is going to accept or understand your personality, and by choosing to write you off without really getting to know you - that’s THEIR problem, not yours. It’s disappointing. Even if we don’t always like or understand each other (generally speaking), it would be nice if people could at the very least learn to appreciate that there is no “right way” to be. I just want to tell people to grow up and get over themselves sometimes.
OK, hopping off that soapbox.